FAQ #1: “If L3Harris leaves Northampton, won’t we lose the tax revenue?”

Answer:

No. Northampton would not lose commercial property tax revenue if L3Harris left.

Commercial property taxes in Massachusetts are based on the assessed value of the real estate itself - the land and the building - not the business operating inside it.

That means:

• A building is taxed the same amount regardless of who occupies it - L3Harris, a clean-tech firm, a life science company, a startup incubator, or anything else.

• If the property is sold or leased to a new tenant, the tax bill stays the same unless a renovation changes the assessed value.

• If the building is temporarily vacant, the owner still pays the full tax bill.

• The only scenario where revenue is lost is if the property is legally abandoned and removed from the tax roll - which will not happen at a high-value advanced manufacturing site in downtown Northampton, especially one located near five world-class colleges and universities.

In short:

The tax revenue comes from the building, not the defense contractor.

The revenue stays. The risk does not.

FAQ #2: “If L3Harris leaves Northampton, won’t we lose the jobs?”

Answer:

No. The jobs do not disappear - they relocate.

If L3Harris moves its nuclear weapons systems related work out of a residential neighborhood, the positions shift to a more appropriate, secure military or naval location. They do not evaporate from the regional economy.

Here’s why:

• L3Harris is not shutting down the program.
  The photonics mast / submarine imaging work is under long-term Navy contract obligations. The work continues - it just needs to be done in a location suitable for defense manufacturing.

• Jobs tied to federal weapons systems follow the program, not the building.
  Skilled positions (assembly, optics, testing, engineering, QA) would simply move to a better-suited site.

• The most likely relocation sites are:

  • Westover Air Reserve Base (Chicopee) - secure, industrial, close.

  • Westfield’s Barnes ANG Base - also secure & underutilized.

  • Groton, CT (Electric Boat submarine hub)

  • Newport, RI (Naval Undersea Warfare Center + submarine ecosystem)

  These are existing, defense-compatible locations.

• Workers are not fired.
  Defense contractors retain their trained specialists.
  Many employees would:

  • commute,

  • transfer internally,

  • or remain with L3Harris in another division.

• New jobs will fill the space here.
  
  The Northampton building will not be empty for long.

• It would quickly be leased to:

  • advanced manufacturing firms,

  • clean tech,

  • medical device companies,

  • university spinouts,

  • A Five Colleges Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship | Click for more information on this model

  • or R&D tenants.

  In an area surrounded by five colleges and a workforce pipeline, the space is valuable and in demand.

• Northampton does not lose workers - it gains safety.
  
  What leaves is the nuclear weapons - related risk, not employment.

FAQ #3: “Don’t L3Harris employees support the local economy?”

Answer:

People imagine that L3Harris employees stroll downtown, shop locally, eat in restaurants, and support cafés - but in reality, the economic impact on Northampton is extremely small.

Here’s why:

• The facility is secure-access, meaning workers stay inside during the workday.

• Many bring lunch, minimizing any interaction with local businesses.

• There is no foot traffic that spills into downtown.

• The company does not draw customers or visitors into Northampton the way a hospital, university, coworking hub, arts venue, or innovation space would.

• The site is not mixed-use - it’s a standalone, closed industrial building with no public interface.

So yes - the real economic impact is essentially “someone buys a slice of pizza.”

That’s not dismissive; it’s the actual scale of local benefit.